irrigation - home gardens

This is a ten lesson course that covers the design, installation, maintenance and operation of simple irrigation systems. It focuses on irrigation for home gardens, parks and other ornamental landscaped areas (for commercial horticulture irrigation systems please see the "Crops" section of this site)

Water is essential to plant growth and is often the major limitation to survival and productivity. Increasingly we are realising that water is a scarce resource which cannot be used without considering its optimum use for a desired result.

Studying this course will help you understand the issues and put into place a plan of action for your garden. In particular you will be able to:

Understand the significance of soil in irrigation.

Know how to determine when to irrigate the garden.

Understand the environmental impact of irrigation.

Manage irrigation in a given situation (including water saving measures).

See the significance of different aspects of water handling including: drainage, pumps, filters, storage and recirculation.

Select an appropriate irrigation system for a given situation.

Explain the principles of design for a simple irrigation system.

Design a simple irrigation system.

Oversee the installation of an irrigation system.

When you know what you are doing your garden is far more likely to be one that functions better for you and looks better to you. There are so many benefits to understanding gardening better and this course will save you money when you learn to use irrigation systems to their best advantage.

There are 10 lessons in this course:

Introduction to Irrigation

Soil Characteristics & Problems

Estimating Plant Needs & Irrigation Scheduling

Drainage

Types of Irrigation Systems

Trickle Systems

Design Specifications

Pumps & Filters

Selecting the Right System for a Plant

Design & Operation of Systems.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the Academy, marked by our tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments and, if necessary, extra reading.

You will be working with Colin Elliott, well known horticulturist and ex-Royal Gardener, who is a passionate plantsman and keen gardener.